Aromat is an innovative strategic board game that can be used in conjuction with a mobile app (iOS, Android) for score calculation and score keeping. It stands out for its smart gaming mechanisms and highly aesthetic design. // It's the first abstract strategy game with a collectible approach. Hence the unique genre it creates: Collectible Abstract Strategy™ (CAS). Expanding will give you more tactical possibilities and a great variety in gameplay. // While playing Aromat you will train your brain in decision making and information processing. // All game pieces are handmade with high precision and artisanship in Amsterdam, from wood that is hand selected for beauty and durability.

Aromat is a turn-based Collectible Abstract Strategy game. First of all, Aromat is characterised by its many possible variations in gameplay and strategy. Players have a lot of freedom! Let's start by giving a general overview of the game mechanism.

TILES

Aromat is played with hexagonal shaped Tiles that have a combination of numbers, shapes, symbols and dots on all sides. The shape, number and dots indicate the specific value of each side of a tile. The Patterns Aromat Tile is 4cm (1.6") wide and 1.5cm (0.6") thick.

Each player starts with a 6 tile basic set with their emblem of choice. The specific emblem identifies the player.

On each turn a player places a Tile next to another Tile (one’s own or opponents' Tile, depending on the chosen strategy).
When a tile is placed, all adjacent tiles gain or lose points (or stay even) based on the score sums or (differences) of the tiles.
By strategically placing your tiles, you not only influence your own score but also your opponents score!

Score calculation and keeping can be done the old fashioned way; using paper- pencil, or… you can use our Aromat app to do the calculations for you, (Already finished developing and soon available in the App Store and Play Store, once the campaign has ended).

Tiles can be placed next to each other on any surface in any way the players desire, this is called: the Free Form Game. Another option is to play using a Play Field.

PLAY FIELD

Play Field Elements can be combined to shape a specific Play Field in any figure the players desire, adding another strategic dimension to the game.
Play Fields limit Tile positioning options, making it a little easier for the beginning player.
At a later stage, advanced players may shape Play Fields as part of their strategy, trying to influence the game by creating a “winning Play Field”.
However when one player sets the play field his or her opponent gets to place the first tile!

STRATEGY AND GOAL

Aromat can be played at various strategic levels and goals. Here I will outline a version recommended for beginners, with the Basic Set and the first set of 6 Play Field Elements.
The aim of the game is to have the highest or lowest score of all players after all Tiles have been placed. In this case, both players have an identical set of six Game Tiles (the basic set), so here strategic tile placement becomes important, as both players have the same Set. You could also decide together to place less than 6 Tiles per game, for a quick match!

MODULATORS

Furthermore you can choose to bring modulators into the game, these are fun elements that can spice up your game. Modulators allow you to jump, turn or move tiles you already placed, giving yourself or your opponent an advantage or disadvantage during the game.

EMBLEM TOKENS

There are 4 unique Emblems to identify a player in the game. When you (pledge to) order a game you will be kindly asked to choose an emblem (this can be done using the enquiry at the end of the campaign). When ordering the Basic Set, Emblem Tokens are included for each Tile. These are tokens with a slight different design than the normal Emblems of the Tile. They allow you to change Emblem for the duration of a game to distinguish which tile belongs to which player. This will be useful when you and your opponent have the same Emblem. Additionally, using the Emblem Tokens will allow a group up to 8 players to play Aromat together.

VARIABLE PLAY SETS

Strategies are infinite. This is where the collectible element comes in. For more advanced strategies, players can use the Extension Set Expansions, each containing 4 extra tiles, giving them the opportunity to create an “optimal” Play Set, for each game they play, depending on the goal the players have. (This Kickstarter campaign provides the Basic Set only).

RULE BOOK

The rule book that you will receive with the game will explain in more detail the exact scoring rules of the numbers, symbols and dots on the tiles, the bonus points systems and the use of modulators.
Also will it give several suggestions for strategies, of tile placement and Play Field placement, together with suggestions for different playing goals, like the “first round highest score – second round lowest score” goal for players with non-identical decks.

You can find a visual explanation of the scoring systems at the bottom of this Kickstarter page.

Aromat was developed from the ground up for strategic gameplay. You could say that it's the modern chess. Its principle has no chance aspect to it what so ever. This way it stays a battle of intelligence and tactics. It looks like a simple game, but it could require some hardcore brain sweating, depending on your level.It is also my intention that players share new strategies and fun playing goals they discover or invent, on our website’s community page.

Discover new strategies and share them in the community!I hope you will enjoy playing the game!

This Game has been play tested for 1,5 years.

Aromat is a Collectible Abstract Strategy™ game (CAS). This means that each player can collect game pieces to be able to construct unique Play Sets. Expanding your collection adds more choices, depth, engagement and variation to the gameplay. Variation is one of the key aspects to the game. This ensures that it will stay interesting and novel throughout a lifetime. Start with the Basic Set then augment your gameplay with more choices, tactics and strategic depth by expanding your Tile Collection. (This Kickstarter campaign provides the Basic Set only).

Great precision and detail is used for the design of the game elements. The design process took 1.5 years and has seen many stages and changes, ending up being spectacular. The detail and aesthetic appeal are simply amazing!

Both for iOS and Android (smartphone/tablet). Already finished developing and soon available in the App Store and Play Store, once the campaign has ended. The app helps you playing Aromat Game in a fun and convenient way. It calculates the game score and keeps the score for you. You can also play Aromat without the app, which can be done the old fashioned way; using paper- pencil. The rulebook contains the exact rules on how to calculate the score yourself.

The concept, research, design, prototyping, production, apps programming, photography, videography, website etc. took 1.5 years and was all done by one person.

All aspects of Aromat Game are crafted in The Netherlands. The wood is selected by hand for aesthetic quality. The attention and detail during the production process make the elements of the game to be true art pieces. After the burning process of the numbers and symbols into the wood, the wood gets finished with a thin layer of natural wax. This finish does not stay on top of the wood, but gets sucked in, keeping the natural beauty of the wood. The production is done in my own workshop in Amsterdam. My mother, who is a retired engineer in computer chip development will help me with assembly tasks.

The highest grade hand chosen French Oak and Walnut wood is used for making the game pieces and play field elements. All materials are selected with sustainability in mind to be able to make an earth friendly product.

When you play Aromat, the figures that will be created resemble the cyclical molecule structures that make up the natural phenomenon Aroma. My father, who is a chemist, mentioned the resemblance after seeing the game for the first time and that's how the name Aromat was born.

Dear supporter, my name is Ramón Kailani and I am from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I was born in 1985. I studied Biomedical Science, Neuro Science, Literature and Music Composition in The Netherlands and The UK. Since I was a child I understood well the correlation between engaging your mind in strategic thinking (games, puzzles) and agility in real life situations. If you practice the first, you will become better at the second.
One of the aspect of life, which I believe can make people live better, is efficiency. In my own conclusion about this subject I found that the main key to efficiency in these modern days is the making of choices. This is why I wanted to design a game that could train people in decision making, if that is a key aspect in efficiency which leads to a better and happier life. This was my intention when I started developing Patterns: Aromat. At the end it became a project of 1.5 years and the game developed to be both engaging and highly aesthetic. I have developed Aromat entirely on my own; from research, to conceptualising, designing, prototyping, app development, production and presentation. It has been a long and hard route with lots of trial and error, but I'm very satisfied with the results. Have fun playing!

You will get a Patterns Aromat 2 Player Starter Pack with different options. This Starter Pack contains:

• Basic Set for 2 players consisting of 12 Tiles The Basic Set is where your exciting journey into the world of Aromat Game starts. Dive into the strategic system that will get you engaged right away. You will be drawn into it even further the more you play it. This universal Set of 6 Aromat Game Tiles per player is well balanced and is a complete game which can be enjoyed for many generations to come. All Basic Sets have the exact same kinds of Playing Tiles. The system expands with the optional Extension Set Expansions for more tactical choices, gameplay depth, engagement and variation to the game.

• "Regular" Or "Deluxe" Tile VersionsThe sides of the Aromat Tiles can be had in brown wood or coloured acrylic glass combinations. The Regular version is lighter in weight and contains wooden sides, the Deluxe version is heavy and more beautiful, containing a three layer coloured acrylic glass combinations.

• 12 x Emblem Tokens The Aromat Emblems are there to distinguish which Game Tile belongs to which Player and are engraved into the Game Tiles. The Emblem Tokens can be used whenever you would play Aromat with someone with the same Emblem design. Also, the game can expand to 8 players using the Emblem Tokens.• 6 x Play Field ElementsBy combining the Play Field Elements you can construct a unique Play Field for each new game. This is a very fun, surprising and unique way to play which adds novelty to the gameplay each time you play a new game. The Play Field Elements are made so that they can fit in each other like puzzle pieces. While it is not necessary to use a Play Field when playing Aromat, using it makes the gameplay more relaxed because the Play Field is taking away options and choices you would have had to make yourself otherwise. You can make the Play Field as small, big, simple or complicated as you like. Collaborate with your opponents to create the Play Field shape or decide on the shape in turns. A Play Field Element is made out of Walnut wood with inlays of Oak wood that contain ornaments burned into them.

• 10 x Modulators TokensA set of the Aromat Modulators contains 5 different Tokens per player: • 2 x Turn right, turn left tokens • 1 x Turn in all directions Token • 1 x Walk in all directions Token • 1 x Jump to all direction Token The ultimate Aromat strategy tools. Plan ahead, save resources to be able to use the Modulators and alter the entire game by moving your Game Tiles in different ways. Requires hardcore thinking!!

• Mobile AppDeveloped for convenience and fun. This native app is for Android and iOS users, written in Java and Swift respectively and runs smoothly on both platforms. You can download it on your smartphone or tablet. The app is already developed and fully functional

• Your Name engraved on the boxPersonalise your game set with this special feature. Also great if the game is intended to be a gift.

• Rulebook

• Strategy BookA nice looking book with explanations and revelations of deep strategies that are hidden into the game. It requires some time and experience with the game to come up with strategies. To make yourself quickly more expert, you can find some basic strategies explained in this book.

• Wood Nourishing Set: Clear, Solid, Natural Wood Wax + BrushLuxurious wood benefits from regular care to nourish, protect and seal it from wear and tear. Wood will continue to enrichen its colour and character year after year, especially if cared for properly. This way your Aromat wooden Game Pieces will stay beautiful for a lifetime.

• Wooden Necklace Charm with a special Patterns Aromat design KICKSTARTER SPECIALA necklace charm with a special Aromat design. This art piece is finished with natural shellack, a wood finish used on expensive violins.

• Player Identification Badge (KickStarter Special)

• Aromat Player Identification Medallions per set

You can specify which Emblem Designs you wish to receive in the survey at the end of the campaign:

VISUAL EXPLANATION OF THE SCORING SYSTEM

Game Elements

Scoring System Beginners

For a beginner it is recommended to start by using the Circle and Triangle shapes and not mind the Square shapes and Dots. In the Beginner Game you can follow 4 simple scenarios:

Scoring System Advanced & Advanced+

You can play Aromat on different levels. After getting used to the game by playing the Beginners Scoring System, you can step up to the Advanced Level System. This level is included in the Aromat Basic Set that you will receive in this Kickstarter Campaign. The Advanced+ Level Tiles will be included in the Extension Set Expansions.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge €225 or more
About $255

Midsummer Festival"Deluxe" Non-EarlyBird

"The feast continues until dawn" // Double Set (2 x 2 Players). Beautiful hand selected solid wood. Hand made in Amsterdam with great care and precision. Eye catching design. A game for a lifetime enjoyment.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge €245 or more
About $278

Royal Tournament "Deluxe" Non-Early Bird

"To win the heart of the Lady" // Double Set (2 x 2 Players). Beautiful hand selected solid wood. Hand made in Amsterdam with great care and precision. Eye catching design. A game for a lifetime enjoyment.